Blog
“The
grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath
of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are
grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the
Word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah
40:7-8)
This is an age of abbreviated
words and phrases, and it all seems to have started
with FDR (American President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt). Under his administration, government
programs had abbreviations and acronyms for just
about everything. The Tennessee Valley Authority
became the “TVA” and the Civilian Conservation Corps
was the “CCC.” World War Two (WWII) accelerated
this process. We have been recently hearing the
term “Blog” and
many have wondered what it means. We went looking
for an exact definition on the internet and here’s
what we found:
“Blog”
is a shortened form of the phrase “weB
LOG” and it basically describes a journal
that is on the World Wide Web, accessible to a
computer user. It’s a computer version of what we
used to call a “diary,”
but unlike a diary, which was typically kept private
by the person writing it, the “blog”
is for the public domain. The activity of updating
a blog is "blogging"
and someone who keeps a blog is a "blogger."
Blogs are typically updated regularly, often daily,
using software that allows people with little or no
technical background to update and maintain them.
Postings on a blog are almost always arranged in
chronological order with the most recent additions
often featured first.
The intention of bloggers is
that others will read what they have to say, and
some of the newest bloggers think of themselves as
reporters who provide a look at the news that is
needed by mankind, at least by “their” kind of
people. The hope of some who report this way is
that they’ll be accepted as a legitimate alternative
to television, newspapers and other forms of news
reporting. It is noted that in the early days of
television, TV news broadcasters were scorned by
newspaper reporters and it was only later that
television news broadcasting gained widespread
acceptance. Many bloggers have been fired for
blogging on company time, but others have actually
been encouraged to “blog” on the job, with the idea
that it is “positive” for workers to have a place to
read about issues important to them. The bloggers
are probably here to stay.
The reason for “blogging” is a
deep-seated need to COMMUNICATE that is essentially
universal within humanity. Even those who seem to
be “private” individuals have such a need – they
just haven’t found the “right” person they can trust
with information about themselves. The “hermit,”
the curmudgeon who doesn’t seem to want anybody,
actually has a deep need to know and be known, but
they often have been hurt in the past and are afraid
to trust again. The truth is that we all have
little to say – we need to hear the Lord.
It would be wrong to say that
GOD “needs” to communicate with us, but it is
certainly accurate that He WANTS to do just that.
The “need” is actually ours, not His, and it is out
of His love He speaks to us, through prophets,
evangelists, teachers and others He has sent us
through the millennia. Sometimes we listen to God’s
Word and sometimes we don’t, but His message is
always there, just because He loves you and me.
God’s methods of communication,
the various forms of which are the “Word of God,”
have been interesting and varied during the
centuries. One of the simplest forms of His
communication with us has been through nature
itself. David, who was not only a poet and a king,
but also a prophet, observed: “The
heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament
shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and
night unto night reveals knowledge” (Psalm
19:1-3). It is true that scientists are astonished
at God’s creative abilities. They may not
acknowledge Him, but it is incredible, to say the
least, that the more one utilizes radio telescopes,
electron microscopes and mathematical theorems, the
more intricate things are found to be. There
apparently IS no end to the universe, for the
further we look, the more there is, and we really
don’t have numbers high enough to count the number
of stars within the interstellar vastness we call
“space.” For a long time, scientists thought the
atom was the smallest bit of matter, but now it
seems that the deeper you go into the microcosm, the
more complex it gets. Those who deny that God is
the Creator must “suppress
the truth in unrighteousness” in order to do
so (Romans 1:18).
“If only I could see God; THEN
I would believe!” is the shout of many, which is
much the same as saying, “If only I could see
watchmakers; I would BELIEVE in them!” I have never
personally seen a watchmaker to my knowledge, but we
can KNOW that watchmakers exist by merely looking at
our watches (or someone else’s watch, if we don’t
have one). And you and I can KNOW God exists by
simply looking at His creation.
The Bible is an incredible
Book. Rick Warren calls it the “Owners
Manual” we must all look to in order to
correctly understand not only God, but also His
“product,” the human race. Years ago when I was
reading the works of many of the great philosophers
and looked into the Book of Mormon, the Koran and
the Vedas, I was shocked by the Bible. It simply
seemed to be the often-sordid stories of people and
what happened to them. And that’s true, except that
it’s also a series of biographies about what
occurred when most of them encountered God. Some of
them accepted Him and some did not, but the Bible is
full of people who met their Maker and He wants you
(in a good way) to meet Him, too.
But the clearest and most
important communication of all is when God the
Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ to this world. We
think of communication as words, and Jesus had much
to say to us when He was here, but just the GIFT of
Him as our Savior was God’s final “Word”
to this world that He really does love you and me.
Our Scripture verse for today
can sound “negative,” for it clearly points out that
everything of this world “fades”
away. But then it continues that “the
Word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah
40:7-8). Jesus Christ, who became a human child, a
man, then died for our sins and lives forevermore,
IS the Word of God for you and me (John 1:1, 14).
Have you accepted the Word of God into your heart
and life? It’s time for all of us to do just that,
right now. Let’s pray together:
Father, there is much “blog” in
the world, and quite often we don’t know WHAT to
believe. Thank You for Jesus Christ, who is indeed
“the Word of God”
who “stands forever.”
Please forgive our sins and let us know Your Son –
forever. In Jesus Name. Amen.
